Drock Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 I found this specimen in a dry portion of a river bed. Have any of you ever seen a piece of petrified wood that looks like this? I'll add a link to a video proving that it is mineral and not just a piece of wood. https://youtu.be/28Y5XUQ223w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 7 minutes ago, Drock said: I found this specimen in a dry portion of a river bed. Have any of you ever seen a piece of petrified wood that looks like this? I'll add a link to a video proving that it is mineral and not just a piece of wood Welcome to TFF! I do not see a piece of petrified wood. It looks like a crystallized mineral, possibly chrysotile (asbestos). 1 Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drock Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 30 minutes ago, ynot said: Welcome to TFF! I do not see a piece of petrified wood. It looks like a crystallized mineral, possibly chrysotile (asbestos). Thanks for the welcome and the reply. I've considered that it could be asbestos (I'm a certified asbestos worker but have never dealt with it in its raw form) but the "fibers" don't seem right. I freely admit that this might not be petrified wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 1 minute ago, Drock said: Thanks for the welcome and the reply. I've considered that it could be asbestos (I'm a certified asbestos worker but have never dealt with it in its raw form) but the "fibers" don't seem right. I freely admit that this might not be petrified wood. There are other fibrous minerals. It really looks like chrysotile to Me. But it does not look like petrified wood. 2 Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Palm Wood? (wild guess) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailingAlongToo Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 12 hours ago, ynot said: There are other fibrous minerals. It really looks like chrysotile to Me. But it does not look like petrified wood. @Drock I would put it in a plastic bag and take it to one of the Gem or Mineral Clubs in your area, or maybe even a Rock or Mineral Shop, to get their opinion. Don't know much about history Don't know much biology Don't know much about science books......... Sam Cooke - (What A) Wonderful World Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Your fossil wood has growth rings and is not a palm which has only vascular bundles and no growth rings. See part of the third photo that shows two prominant vertical growth rings. See my lower photo of palm vascular bundles. 2 My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Nothing in the piece is really reminiscent of botanical affinties non botanical fibres,an example: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 10 hours ago, DPS Ammonite said: Your fossil wood has growth rings and is not a palm which has only vascular bundles and no growth rings. See part of the third photo that shows two prominant vertical growth rings. See my lower photo of palm vascular bundles. Was thinking of the fibrous part of a modern palm; not a cross section but get your point. Have seen actual gray colored unaltered wood pockets in very hard silicified wood from our cretaceous here. Dino bone and wood are common finds in many places in AB. Guess if this came from outside the cretaceous outcrop area we could eliminate wood. Guess I should limit my wild guesses! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 Mighty neat piece and I'm still wondering about it. I've got to go look at a poorly preserved wood specimen I have from the Cretaceous GV sequence in Calif, that as I recall has a bit of a fibrous texture to it. Not as exaggerated as what you have but as I recall somewhat similar. I've also played with a 3" chrysotile vein/chunk years ago and I can see why that might be suggested. The chrysotile experience will no doubt come back to haunt me down the road but that was a very fresh unweathered seam specimen and it had a very different much finer fibrous texture and had a wonderful greenish white cast to it. I imagine it might weather differently and have an entirely appearance so I'll have to look around for some pictures of some worn specimens. I'm leaning to a wood ID but there are some crazy minerals. I dont recall who our fossil wood experts are...seems like there were some collectors in days gone by and it would be wonderful to hear from them as well. Got my curiousity! If I can find that specimen and have anything more to add I'll post some pictures. Thanks for showing the photos and the video. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusFossils Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 I've found lots of Chrysotile in Québec, and this does look amazingly similar. I would however suggest that Chrysotile has very fine fibers. I can't determine the diameter of the fibers of this specimen based on the pictures provided, but they would need to be virtually microscopic. Marc Website: https://www.instagram.com/paleo_archives/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- “It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.” ― Edgar Allan Poe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jones1rocks Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 Not to hijack a thread, but your piece bears somewhat of a resemblance to a specimen in my possession. Unknown locale. Dark brown, light feeling (SG for specimen as a whole, 2.0, Mohs between 3 and 4, no reaction to acid. The fibrous structure extends to the surface, which is off-white in color, and grades to tan, then dark brown. I'm assuming this lighter area is the weathering surface. In some places on the surface of the dark fibrous areas, there are tiny round structures , enclosed in a thin lighter colored shell. Cone structures are visible in the white surfaces, along with scattered, iron oxide stained tiny minerals. The dark area has a yellow-brown streak, and the white areas have a white streak. The fibers are somewhat friable at the edges of the white sections. I was told by a serious collector of fibrous minerals that in his opinion, this was a piece of petrified wood, as he also had specimens that had a friable fibrous white edge. To me, my first impression of your specimen is that it is a fibrous mineral and not petrified wood (but that was also my first impression of my specimen pictured below!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drock Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 Thanks for all of the replies! My next step will be to take to a local club, in a bag just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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